Multicomponent high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry analysis of ten chemotherapeutic drugs in wipe samples

Progress in chemotherapy leads to increased numbers and variety of chemotherapeutic drugs, and multicomponent analysis of these drugs is a necessary step. We used liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and developed a multicomponent analysis of ten drugs used in chemotherapy: vindesine, vincristine, vinblastine, doxorubicin, epirubicin, ifosfamide, cyclophosphamide, irinotecan, docetaxel, and paclitaxel. We selected five internal standards for each category of drug, because the ionization efficiencies of product ions varied widely. The total run time was 22 min, applying a gradient elution of water and acetonitrile in the presence of 0.1% formic acid. The lower limit of quantification was 50 ng/wipe samples for vindesine, vincristine, and vinblastine, and 5 ng/wipe samples for the remaining seven drugs. Accuracy (88.6–112.9%, 85.2–111.7%) and precision (1.0–11.5%CV, 3.6–14.4%CV) in within-run and between-run assays of QC solutions were acceptable. Without outliers, in within-run and between-run assays of QC samples, accuracy was 90.6–113.9% and 91.1–130.4%, respectively, and precision was 2.2–19.0%CV and 4.8–14.9%CV, respectively. Accuracy and precision of High QC samples of irinotecan were deviated. Our analysis procedure has sufficient sensitivity and is convenient enough for regular monitoring.

► We developed a multicomponent analysis method for 10 common chemotherapy drugs.
► The lower limit of quantification for each drug was 5–50 ng per wipe.
► Our procedure has sufficient sensitivity and is convenient for regular monitoring.